At first, I thought the program would be harsh and more rigid than typical high school classes, but I was wrong. On the first day, we had a welcome breakfast, and the professors were very kind and welcoming to the new students. I was shocked by the size of the campus when I first arrived because even though I’ve always known USC has a huge campus, this was even more overwhelming in person. I’m still new to the environment and I plan to explore a lot more this following week.
To be honest, I’m anxious about future assignments and how difficult they will get as the days go by, but I think I’ll make it as long as I follow the instructions. During my classes in Comm 101, we covered the broad topic of civic engagement. In one of our lessons, we talked about “What it means to be a ‘good citizen’.” This topic caught my interest because I find it interesting how everyone can be classified into one of three groups of citizens. The three groups are: 1) The personally responsible citizen 2) The participatory citizen 3) The Justice-Oriented citizen. All three of these groups have a common goal of contributing to make a change in the community; however, what sets them apart is the effort and time it takes to achieve their goals.
On Wednesday, the class had a barbecue for Juneteenth. Then we visited the California African American Museum, where there were a lot of paintings and structures depicting the significance of African American history within the state of California. As we walked in, there were multiple black and white paintings that occupied the walls. The paintings looked as if they were drawn with a normal pencil, despite their size. The individuality in these paintings is what made me develop a liking for them. Every exhibition at the California African American Museum is very distinct in appearance, and I think anyone would enjoy the experience, even if they are not history enthusiasts. This museum was definitely more interesting than I had anticipated, and the paintings were the best attractions at the museum, in my opinion.
On Thursday, the class went to Little Tokyo for our field trip; we learned about Japanese history in the U.S. and visited different places in Little Tokyo. First, I went to the Japanese Village Plaza Mall, which had several establishments selling products from Japanese snacks to action figures, jewelry, and stuffed animals. Later on, I went to the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). The exhibitions at this museum represented themes such as injustice, community, loyalty, immigration, and resistance. At the museum, we did multiple activities, one of which was to identify the connection between an artifact and one of the themes presented, then give a reason behind your choice.
Our last visit was to a ramen shop called SHIN-SEN-GUMI; everyone had the choice to order whatever they wanted. I ordered a Hakata Ramen Bowl with fried shrimp on the side, and it was really good. My first impression of the AYA program is a curriculum with a good balance of academics and recreational activities. This week was really enjoyable, and I hope next week will be just as good, if not better.
Communicating Change 